Music to Your Ears

By Laura Marrich

Where It's At—It was one of those life-affirming, “you had to be there” moments. All the planets aligned neatly into concentric rows, international superstar Beck and his boys put on a clever, enormously entertaining spectacle at the Kiva, then donned wigs and sunglasses, jogged over to the Launchpad, and played an impromptu set for locals SuperGiant's CD release show (See last week's “Show Up!,” June 22–28). They jammed for a full hour through a backline of SuperGiant's own amps and drum set. This time, the show was loose and candid. It was a damn near perfect foil to their slick Convention Center production. (We were actually close enough to see Beck's rosacea-tinted cheeks, the only splotch of color on a nearly translucent man.) White buffalo that he is, Beck closed his set with an offering of, “Thanks to SuperGiant for letting us play.” Can you imagine?

We couldn't. We were floored. The drop-jawed audience was a mixed bag of Kiva concert attendees, people who couldn't afford the $50 Kiva tickets in the first place, local music patrons out in support of SuperGiant, lowlifes, barflies and anyone else who happened to wander in off the street. (I happened to qualify in all six instances). And we payed a pittance, just $5, for the privilege. This is why I love this city.

Last-Minute Early Birds—Fair warning: You've got until Friday, June 30, to get a discount on ¡Globalquerque! World Music and Culture Celebration tickets. Then it's going to go up. The special rate is $20 a day or $35 for the entire weekend (remember, it's Sept. 23 and 24 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center) and three stages of international and local music. The latest confirmed lineup is available at www.globalquerque.com, with tickets at the NHCC Box Office and at all TicketMaster outlets.

You can still get early birds for the Thirsty Ear Festival, set once again for Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 1-3) at the Eaves Movie Ranch in Santa Fe. Confirmed acts include Greg Brown, Honeyboy Edwards and Dave Alvin (who has a much better track record for honoring commitments than his brother Phil's band, The Blasters). Quite simply, Thirsty Ear is the best American roots music festival in the Southwest. Call (505) 473-5723 or log onto thirstyearfestival.com for ticket information.